The story of Joe Gibbs not budging on a particular stance to then changing it completely, to once again being firm on it, has been an interesting one in the last few years. The story in subject revolves around JGR and their policy of not allowing their NASCAR drivers to race in other series. And the one factor between his old stance and his new one seems to be his grandson, Ty Gibbs, who recently suffered a scary crash.

Gibbs explains his decision not to change his policy again

On Thursday, ahead of the NASCAR weekend in Las Vegas, Ty Gibbs suffered a scary wreck in the High Limit racing series. He went airborne, rolled multiple times, and hit the catch fence. Fortunately, the young JGR driver was unharmed and went on to take part in Sunday’s Cup race, which his teammate, Denny Hamlin, won.

Following the race, Ty Gibbs’ scary wreck was presented to Joe Gibbs in a media availability session. The reporter asked how he dealt with the incident as a team owner and a grandfather. Gibbs was further asked about his old rule of not allowing his drivers to compete in other racing series.

It’s worth mentioning that Joe Gibbs was very stern on that rule for many years. In fact, he once prevented Kyle Busch from racing in the Indy 500. However, things changed when, in November 2024, Gibbs decided to lift those restrictions on his drivers, allowing Christopher Bell, Chase Briscoe, and Ty Gibbs to follow their curiosities and passions.

Talking about him lifting the restrictions, Joe Gibbs said, “It was Ty, it was Christopher, and it was Chase also. All of them had something to do with their stuff. I originally was in one spot when thinking about it, changed my mind. And I decided those guys, really to be truthful, they really don’t have a lot else in the off season. And so I made that decision. So, I’m always concerned about it. I’ll put it that way.”

Despite Ty undergoing that horrific accident, Gibbs will not change his stance on it now, refusing to break it for Ty.

Speaking in November 2024, Ty Gibbs credited Christopher Bell for ‘making it happen.’ He claimed Bell was trying to have the restrictions lifted for a long time and slowly put it together. But because of Chase Briscoe’s arrival, Gibbs claimed it acted as a catalyst since the #19 driver is ‘a huge dirt guy.’

When Joe Gibbs got in between Kyle Busch and Indy 500

While Gibbs has changed his decision on racing outside, his original stance was a tough nut to crack.

In 2017, one of NASCAR’s most accomplished and bankable drivers, Kyle Busch, expressed and pursued his desire to compete in the Indy 500. He had everything ready, sold’ and ready to go.

However, he faced one major obstacle, which he refused to name but decided to point to. “I’ve got a boss that said no. Figure it out. I’ve got two bosses – ones a male and ones a female. I would certainly. I thought that I had a great opportunity to do it,” Busch said.

Earlier this year in a conversation with Denny Hamlin, the former Joe Gibbs Racing driver once again spoke about his failed Indy 500 attempt in 2017. He claimed Chevrolet & Toyota were on board with it, and M&M’s was willing to pay for it.

Busch had his opportunity ‘done, sealed, signed, delivered’, until someone said no. Without revealing the name again, he suggested it was none other than his former boss, who is now open to seeing his drivers, including his grandson, race in other series outside of NASCAR.